4 ms·

One of the scales used to measure procrastination in this study is linked here: http://www.yorku.ca/rokada/psyctest/prcrasts.pdf http://www.yorku.ca/rokada/psyc

One of the scales used to measure procrastination in this study is linked here: http://www.yorku.ca/rokada/psyctest/prcrasts.pdf http://www.yorku.ca/rokada/psyctest/prcrasts.pdf (The study did not use any of the star marked questions). Basically, they found that there is a strong link between your genetics and how you will answer this questionnaire. The questions tend to cluster around things with firm deadlines, or otherwise of more or less known time components to it, and which furthermore have more or less the same costs to you. In your examples, things being put off have unknown time components and a relatively large degree of risk. Putting off those actions is in many ways the result of a pretty rational calculation. In contrast, typical things that we 'procrastinate' about (like returning a library book, or washing the dishes, or doing some assignment) are things with little or know risk, as well as relatively well known time and effort (or we believe to be well known) costs.

goblin89 12y ago
Thanks for linking to the document. I can’t argue with the evidence regarding genetics, and I agree that real procrastination likely indicates troubles with goal management, but I strongly disagree that what these questions indicate is in fact tendency to procrastinate (by Wikipedia’s definition[0] and my own understanding of the word). My main objection is that what appears as procrastination to an outsider may not necessarily be procrastination per individual’s plan. Moreover, I think the common attitude to this is unfortunate, because avoiding externally perceived procrastination may actually go against individual’s own interests. Such conflict could be enough to induce actual procrastination in those sensitive to public pressure but not willing to fully cave in[1]. Meanwhile, the majority of questions in the document judge the procrastination by this “external” standard. [0] “Procrastination is the practice of carrying out less urgent tasks in preference to more urgent ones, or doing more pleasurable things in place of less pleasurable ones, and thus putting off impending tasks to a later time…” [1] “I want to go freelancing (fire my client, etc.) but when I lurk and read up on this topic (polish my resume, etc.) I feel like I’m procrastinating, so I’m writing Hacker News comments instead” is roughly how I imagine this.

goblin89 12y ago

Thanks for linking to the document. I can’t argue with the evidence regarding genetics, and I agree that real procrastination likely indicates troubles with goal management, but I strongly disagree that what these questions indicate is in fact tendency to procrastinate (by Wikipedia’s definition[0] and my own understanding of the word). My main objection is that what appears as procrastination to an outsider may not necessarily be procrastination per individual’s plan. Moreover, I think the common attitude to this is unfortunate, because avoiding externally perceived procrastination may actually go against individual’s own interests. Such conflict could be enough to induce actual procrastination in those sensitive to public pressure but not willing to fully cave in[1]. Meanwhile, the majority of questions in the document judge the procrastination by this “external” standard. [0] “Procrastination is the practice of carrying out less urgent tasks in preference to more urgent ones, or doing more pleasurable things in place of less pleasurable ones, and thus putting off impending tasks to a later time…” [1] “I want to go freelancing (fire my client, etc.) but when I lurk and read up on this topic (polish my resume, etc.) I feel like I’m procrastinating, so I’m writing Hacker News comments instead” is roughly how I imagine this.